Alatyr River flows through the expanses of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Chuvashia and Mordovia.
The river helps residents of numerous settlements that are located along the banks, solve economic and transport problems, supplies fish, pleases the eye and refreshes.
origin of name
In the Mordovian language the river is called Ratorley, in the Chuvash Ulatar.
Philologists and historians argue about the exact meaning of the name of the Alatyr river.
One of the options suggests that the river name is formed by the words "colorful city". However, experts have long identified the sequence: first, people give a name to the river, and then to the city.
Another version refers to the mythological stone Alatyr, which in Slavic myths denotes the center of the world. The laws that the supreme god Svarog gave to people are cut down on it.
A more believable version is that the word Alatyr is formed from the Mordovian words “ala” + “tor” (drag down). There are many whirlpools along the river, perhaps this was the reason for such a sonorous name.
However, in these places the peoples of Erzya and Moksha lived, it is possible that it is in their languages that one should seek understanding of how the river name is translated.
Geography
According to the water register, Alatyr belongs to the Upper Volga basin, while being a part of the Sura River basin, Alatyr is a left tributary.
Hydrography
The length is almost 300 km. The source is located near the city of Pervomaisk, which is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The border between Mordovia and the Nizhny Novgorod region runs along the channel. At first, the river is a small stream of a meter wide and a depth of half a meter. But such a seemingly safe stream for inexperienced travelers is a danger: in some places the water spills up to a width of 10 m, forming deep, up to 2 meters, tightening flanks.
In the upper reaches of the Alatyr River, the banks are low, barely reach a meter high, and the floodplain is wide. In hot summer, the river in its upper reaches can even dry out.
River water flows through the lands of the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the vicinity of the village of Orlovka changing appearance. Here Alatyr is already wide - from coast to coast about 15 meters with a depth of over 2 meters. Further, the steep banks only sometimes fall. The flow velocity in these places is 0.1 m / s.
Then the river runs through the lands of Mordovia, where steep, high, up to 20 m high, banks are replaced by lowlands. The width of the Alatyr river in Mordovia is from 25 to 50 m, and near the Turgenevskoe reservoir, it is 100 m altogether. The river depth also increases: up to 3 m in stretches and up to 1.5, but more often 0.2 m in sonorous rifts. The speed also changes. flow, amounting to 0.4-0.5 m / s. The channel is winding.
In the lower reaches, the river appearance changes again, and in the Alatyr region (Chuvashia) it becomes weak and cloudy. The river completes its run on the north side of the city of Alatyr, flowing into the Sura.
The Alatyr River basin is 11 thousand square meters. km
More than 30 rivers flow into Alatyr, some are so insignificant that they do not even have their own names. The largest tributaries are Insar (length 168 km) and Rudnya (length 86 km), flowing from the right side.
Alatyr is affected by weather: usually in November, with the onset of steady frost, it freezes, forming ice up to 0.5 m thick, and opens in April.
The average water flow rate is 40 m 3 / s. The food of the river is snowy, in the spring there is a high flood.
In summer and winter, the water is clean, bright, turbidity is 25-50 g / m 3 , during the flood period, increasing to 500 g / m 3 .
The chemical composition of water is in the hydrocarbon class, mineralization is 450 mg / l.
Coastline
The Alatyr River flows along the Volga Upland in its northern part.
The coasts are a combination of clay deposits and limestones, experts determined the time when the coastline formed - the Jurassic period.
On the high bank on the left side there are many dense forests, broad-leaved and mixed, on the low right there are swamps, shallow lakes.
The river has a rafting character, and is also used for water supply to settlements. The waters of Alatyr are attractive for fishermen, they are inhabited by fish such as burbot, pike and perch.
Settlements on the banks of the river
Since ancient times Alatyr is densely populated by people. First, the Moksha and Erzya tribes lived here, then the Cossacks and trading people of the Russian state began to explore the expanses.
Now on the banks of the river of the city:
- Alatyr in Chuvashia.
- Ardatov in Mordovia, known since the 18th century, was previously called the village of Novotroitskoe.
In the Mordovian town. Turgenevo is now home to 5 thousand people, and the village smoothly transitions to the city of Ardatov.
On the shores of Alatyr there are villages, large and small, their names are old and sonorous: Lunga, Kendya, Puzskaya Sloboda, Madaevo, Baykovo.
River town
It was the river that gave the name to this ancient settlement in the Volga region. In 1552, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered a fortress to be built on the river bank, which would guard the borders of Russia that expanded after the capture of Kazan. The place was convenient: high on the shore, over a cliff, surrounded by forest.
A small fortress was built in the form of a pentagon, surrounded by a moat with water and a strong wall with 7 towers. Under the protection of the fortress, traditional buildings were placed: a prison and a church, an order hut and treasury, houses of the boyars and the governor's yard.
Until the XVII century, the fortress reliably guarded the borders of the state from raids by wild steppe tribes. Soon craft settlements appeared near the fortress, the city grew, and the population increased.
The city received its coat of arms in 1780 from Catherine the Great, it depicted 3 quivers with arrows - a sign of military prowess. Received economic development after the construction of the railway from Moscow to Kazan.
Today, the city of Alatyr covers an area of about 40 square meters. km, 35 thousand people live in it. This is the second largest and most important city in Chuvashia (after Cheboksary).